Indonesian miner Antam’s nickel production and sales rose in Q2 (April-June) with ferronickel production at 6,447mt nickel in ferronickel (TNi), up by 2pc from the preceding quarter’s production. Ferronickel sales volume was reported at 6,867 TNi, up 11pc from Q1 sales.
In H1 (Jan-July), Antam’s ferronickel production and sales were reported at 12,762 TNi and 13,045 TNi, respectively. The company has reached 48pc of its guidance for production and sales target for 2020.
In Q2, Nickel ore production stood at 745,000mt (wet) which rose by 18pc from the previous quarter. Nickel ore sales volume rose to 168,000mt (wet) in Q2 from earlier quarter. In H1, nickel ore production volume was at 1.37mn mt (wet) while sales figure for the same period was 168,000mt (wet).
The company said that there is a positive sentiment for nickel demand globally. The company recorded financials with EBITDA at Rp828bn ($56mn) in H1 and in Q2 EBITDA was around Rp794bn, up from Rp34bn in the first quarter. Healthy operating production and sales stability led to optimum cash cost levels and a higher operating profitability.
The company’s operating profit grew 128pc in Q2 at Rp313.90bn from Q1. The company’s net profit jumped 230pc in Q2 from a net loss of Rp281.84 in the previous quarter.
Project Update
Antam’s main project under development includes The East Halmahera Ferronickel Plant Development Project with a production capacity of 13,500 TNi per annum in North Maluku. The plant was 98pc developed at the end of H1. On bauxite commodity, Antam is focused on the development of Smelter Grade Alumina Refinery (SGAR) plant in Mempawah with PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminium (Persero) with an estimated total production capacity of 1mn mt per annum.